Lovely senior life

For seniors: Recommended for day services. Hands-on activities that help prevent dementia.

Social worker / Care workermoko
My name is Moko, a mother of three who admired my mother and worked in the care industry as a care worker and as a medical social worker (MSW) in a hospital. I will be drawing on my previous experience to write mainly about caregiving. Thank you in advance.
Worked as a certified care worker for 17 years.Nanaka
I’ve been working as a certified care worker for 17 years. I’m Nanaka, a caregiving web writer. I decided to pursue this profession because I wanted a job that would help people. Having worked in day care for many years, I’ve experienced a wide variety of recreational activities. Exercise set to music, in particular, always created a cheerful atmosphere and was very well received. I’d be delighted to continue delivering writing that resonates with readers through caregiving-related articles. Thank you for your support.

As we age, our muscle strength declines, making fine, hands-on tasks more difficult.

Because the nerves in our hands are connected to the brain, it’s said that moving our hands can help prevent dementia.

In this article, we introduce hands-on recreational activities for day service programs that train both the fingers and the brain.

With a focus on craft-based activities and finger-use games, they also help improve concentration.

Craft activities let participants enjoy the fun of creating, too.

There are many ideas to choose from, so try starting with the hands-on activities you’re most interested in.

[For Seniors] Recommended for day service. Handicraft activities that help prevent dementia (61–70)

Gaffer tape and a ping-pong ball

Finger rehabilitation games, recreational activities, seniors

Gaffer tape and a ping-pong ball

Prepare several ping-pong balls tightly wrapped with duct tape, and compete to see who can peel it off the fastest.

The key points are the concentration to figure out how the tape is wrapped, and the precise wrist and fingertip movements to remove it efficiently.

Increasing the number of ping-pong balls and wrapping them more thoroughly will raise the difficulty, so try a variety of patterns.

Depending on the tape material and how many layers are used, it may require significant force to peel off, so it’s important to prepare according to participants’ strength.

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mitten

[100-Yen Shop] Five Hand Rehabilitation Gadgets You Can Buy at the 100-Yen Store! | Kokoro Care TV

mitten

For people whose hands bend easily when they relax, spreading the hand firmly within a comfortable range and maintaining that position helps bring the hand back to its original state.

Here’s an exercise that supports that kind of hand rehabilitation using tools you can even find at a 100-yen shop.

First, use a rubber band to secure the spread hand to a board, then insert the hand into a mitten as is.

Wrapping with a mitten makes it easier to perform movements like sliding the hand across a desk, so it’s important to stay mindful of moving the arm and shoulder connected to the hand as well.

Moving while wrapped also helps keep the hand warm, which can promote blood circulation.

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A plastic bottle that trains fine finger movements

For people with hemiplegia: Train fine finger movements using a plastic bottle

A plastic bottle that trains fine finger movements

To open a plastic bottle cap, you need a firm fingertip grip and precise rotational movements.

This product uses the bottle-opening motion to train your fingertips.

First, cut the bottle so that the connection between the cap and the body remains, then use screws to fix them onto a board.

Next, attach tape with letters or symbols to each cap, and it’s ready.

You can arrange the caps in the order of the Japanese syllabary or form specified words—by adding these thinking elements, you can effectively train both the brain and the fingertips.

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Flower making with DIY yarn

“Handmade” Easy [Turn a Pencil into a Tool Quickly] DIY Flower Making with Yarn — Amazing Handicraft Flower Design Trick with a Pencil 🌸

Flower making with DIY yarn

This is a flower mascot with a beautiful, soft appearance created by layering wrapped yarn.

Use two pencils as a base and wrap the yarn around them; then thread yarn through the gap between the pencils to tighten the center, remove the pencils, and form the petals.

Finally, combine the petal pieces with yarn to complete the flower, and carefully shape it so it clearly looks like a flower.

The pressure used while wrapping and how you tighten with the yarn are also key points for making a beautiful flower, so this activity encourages attention to finger movements and how much force to apply.

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Ghost Scooping Game

Ghost Scooping Game - Day Service Recreation

Ghost Scooping Game

Here’s a game that treats plastic bags like little ghosts.

Have older adults sit in chairs and use a stick made from newspaper to scoop up plastic bags placed on the floor.

Then have them place the scooped bags into a bowl set on the chair.

This game helps strengthen the biceps on the front of the upper arm.

It’s perfect for people who find it difficult to bring food to their mouth with a spoon, too.

Since it uses familiar items, it’s easy to do in short breaks.

Because they’re “ghosts,” it could be fun to add eyes and a mouth to the plastic bags.

It’s also great as a Halloween-season activity.

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Chopstick Ball-Carrying Game

[100-yen Brain Training] ADL training for eating: “Using chopsticks” movements

Chopstick Ball-Carrying Game

Here’s an introduction to a fingertip game where you use chopsticks to pick up and carry small items.

Games that involve fine finger movements can help stimulate the brain.

They’re also useful for training movements needed in daily life.

What you’ll need is an ice tray for making ice—one that makes small cubes is recommended.

Prepare some craft pom-poms (also called “pompoms”) and a pair of disposable wooden chopsticks.

You can get everything you need at a 100-yen shop, so preparation is easy.

Starting from one end of the ice tray, use the chopsticks to pick up the pom-poms and place them into the compartments.

This action helps train eating-related movements.

Since it’s a seated game, it’s likely to be easy for older adults to try.

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Heart Blocks Mameshiba

Kokoro Blocks – Mameshiba: The Fun of Stacking Together

Heart Blocks Mameshiba

We’re pleased to introduce “Kokoro no Tsumiki,” supervised by Mr.

Chitoku Ishihana of the Rock Balancing Laboratory.

Rock balancing is an art of stacking stones and rocks.

Many of us have likely stacked stones for fun at a beach or riverbank at least once.

This block set requires dexterity and delicate handling, as well as spatial awareness and concentration.

In other words, simply stacking the blocks becomes an unconscious brain workout.

Above all, the adorable Shiba Inu motif is soothing to the heart.

And when you discover an unexpected way to stack them, you’ll surely want to show others.

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